


Friday Night Frights

by midnightelite, writtenbyfreckles



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: horror movies, james is a scaredy cat, lots of pranks and shenanigans, not explained in great detail
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:20:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27313960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightelite/pseuds/midnightelite, https://archiveofourown.org/users/writtenbyfreckles/pseuds/writtenbyfreckles
Summary: James definitely wasn't scared of horror movies, so would everyone please just give it a rest already?or a story where James is really trying to put on a brave face if only his lousy mates would stop trying to scare him.
Relationships: Alice Longbottom/Frank Longbottom, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 21
Kudos: 35





	Friday Night Frights

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween!!  
> We hope you like this one-shot that completely spiraled out of control in the best possible way!! We have a few parts coming up as well! Hope you stay tuned.

The sun was high in the sky and illuminated the cinema area the group was sitting in. People bustled around grabbing snacks as they prepared for the festival to begin. This is the second year that Sirius dragged the lot of them to the Wreck Havoc Horror Drive-In Festival. While most of the group was excited about the campy selection that was chosen for this year, there was one lone member who felt differently. He sat in the front of Lily’s old beat-up station wagon, his back to the screens with a sour expression on his normally pleasant face. 

There was a knock on his window and he turned to see the smiling face of his favorite person. The sourness gave way to a fond annoyance as he wound it down. “You plan to join us anytime soon?” 

“No. I didn’t want to come.” 

“ _ James _ , these movies were all made in the eighties. They aren’t even scary! Plus I bought you loads of m&ms to add to your popcorn.” She sent him a wide-eyed expression, hoping to entice him to join their friends. James crossed his arms across his chest, his lips forming a pout as he turned his attention back to the radio. 

“Holy shit, Evans, did you see that guy’s make-up? Gruesome as,” Sirius bounced up to where Lily leaned into the car. He frowned, taking in his petulant friend’s expression. “He still being a baby?” 

“I am not -” James started to protest, aware his voice was set decidedly at a whining pitch when Lily cut him off. 

“Unfortunately,” she grimaced, making a face at Sirius before turning back to stroke James’ shoulder in a way he would have considered nice in a previous life, but now felt utterly condescending in the circumstances. 

“Come on, Prongs,” Sirius tried to cajole him, hovering over Lily’s shoulder. “You’ve seen and done so much worse, with actual magic. You run with a bloody werewolf for Merlin’s sake. This should be nothing. It’s not even real!”

“Yeah, but the werewolf we run with wears sweaters and gets upset if his tea isn’t made in his very specific way. I wouldn’t exactly classify that as terrifying.” He leveled him with a gaze that screamed ‘come on, you could do better than that.’

“Would you keep your bloody voices down,” Lily hissed, looking around anxiously. Taking in the sheer volume of muggles in their immediate vicinity. Both boys looked a bit sheepish before plowing on at a more reasonable level.

“He isn’t wearing his sweaters when he turns though, Prongs. Plus, the only reason you don’t find him scary is that you know if anything happened he would be way more upset than you ever could.” James nodded in assent. Remus would be inconsolable if anything happened, it’s hard to be afraid of someone who holds so much stock in their actions. 

“Either way, this is a different situation and I am perfectly happy right here.” At the end of the sentence, he started winding his window back up. Clearly no longer wanting to discuss whether he would join them.

“James, come on,” Lily whined. The window paused, open only a crack. “I’ll wrap you in a blanket and hold you the whole time.” The widened gaze returning to her features. She tried not to smirk as she saw the war of emotions playing across James’s face. She already knew she won. 

“Lily,” He whined, “I hate horror movies, can’t I just stay here. I came because you asked! I’m here can’t that just be enough?” She tried not to focus on the drop in her stomach. She should have expected he’d refuse, so she shouldn’t dwell on the disappointment. 

“Fine,” Lily stood back and pushed off the car. “Stay there, and have a shit time by yourself when you could be cuddling with me. Honestly, just suit your bloody self.” She turned to Sirius and indicated back over her shoulder James, “You deal with him.” 

Sirius watched Lily walk around to the back of the car, where she stopped to chat with Marlene and Dorcas who were curled up together in a love seat bean bag. She was gesturing back toward the car in a way that made James sure she was talking about him. 

“Smooth mate,” Sirius brought James’ attention back to him. “Way to show her your manly side.” 

“She’s seen me duel Death Eaters, win Quidditch matches. I open jars for her. How much manlier can one get?” 

Sirius gave him a flat look, “Enjoy your snacks, Prongs. I’ll go cuddle your girlfriend for you in the scary bits.”

“Cheers,” James shoved a handful of popcorn and melted chocolate into his mouth as he turned away from Sirius, giving himself the impression he’d had the last word. Sirius rolled his eyes, before joining the cluster of people near the trunk. He slid his arm around Lily’s shoulders, making sure he was in full view of the side mirror should James get curious. Lily immediately rested her head on his shoulder, slipping her arm around his waist. 

James definitely didn’t notice, and he definitely  _ wasn’t  _ bothered by the action. 

The movie started and everyone settled into their seats. Marlene and Dorcas staying on the bean bag, Peter unfolding a lawn chair and placing it near the boot of the car, and Lily, Sirius, and Remus settling into the blankets in the boot turned bed. They commandeered the radio, tuning it to the drive-in’s frequency.

James focused on the popcorn in his lap, and not the growing voices filling the space of the car. He was not going to be forced to watch another horror movie with his friends. He’d had enough of that last year. 

But he quickly got bored in the front seat of the car. 

He could hear the gasps, giggles, and commentary from the three in the back as they shuffled around in a tangle of blankets, limbs, and snuggles that he normally loved to be in the middle of. 

He could hear Marlene and Dorcas calling out to Mary, who was two cars over and on a date with a serious, stuffy looking gent she’d met in a cooking class. They kept asking to see the couple’s hands, and falling into giggles when Mary glared back at them, occasionally flipping them off. Peter’s shushing from the other side had little to no effect on the girls, nor did the growls and yells from the cars around them as they got louder and more daring. 

James’s popcorn cooled as he sat there, the chocolate solidifying with the popcorn into a hardened clumpy mess, until it eventually reached an almost brick-like substance he could no longer eat. He could hear Sirius and Lily munching on their popcorn, and felt his stomach grumble, despite the amount of salt and sugar he’d already consumed. The best bit of movies were the snacks, and even they were ruined now. 

He shifted uncomfortably in the seat. Lily’s old car had small seats, not built for a frame like his, certainly not for sitting in for extended periods. He thought longingly of the blankets and mattresses in the back of the car, and the warmth and comfort of his friend’s embraces. It was really quite unfair, for them to drag him to movies he couldn’t watch, give him snacks that he couldn’t eat, and give each other cuddles that he couldn’t participate in. It just wasn’t fair. 

_ Fine. I guess I’ll watch the fucking things. _

James heard Lily’s noise of surprise as he opened the door and got out of the car. He saw her head lift as she tried to see where he was going. Probably thought he was trying to leave the drive-ins altogether, he realized. _ Serve her bloody right if I did _ . But he continued on his mission. 

“Look what the cat dragged in,” Sirius sniffed as he clambered into the back. 

“Who won?” Lily asked from her place lounging across the boy’s legs. 

Remus looked at his watch, “16 minutes into the movie. That would be me.” 

“I was close,” Sirius had the gall to look miffed even as he shuffled over. 

“You’re all bloody hilarious,” James muttered. He made his way to the back of the boot and leaned against the seatbacks. Reaching across, he pulled Lily away from the boys and between his legs. She hummed happily, pulling the blankets over them as James wrapped his arms around her front. 

“That’s better,” she rested her head in the crook of his shoulder as she looked up to angle a kiss at his jaw. 

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled as he squeezed her closer to him. Lily only smiled and offered him some popcorn. 

James didn’t really pay attention to the movie. He was content to sit quietly, listen to the others, smirk at Marlene and Dorcas’ attempts to commentate Mary’s date from a distance. He was content to hold Lily closely, inhale her scent, melt into her warmth. The thought he could do this better at home, in their bed, didn’t even cross his mind. 

Well, not more than once. 

Or twice. 

A minute. 

The credits had barely begun to roll when Mary stomped over to the group, and threw herself onto the beanbag, wiggling right between the canoodling couple. She ignored their disgruntled looks as she stole the cider Marlene had smuggled in. 

“Well, that’s another one biting the dust,” she grumbled as she took a long swig. 

“Oi, hey,” Marlene protested mildly. “That’s mine.” 

“You’ve forfeited it,” Mary held it out of her reach. “Penance for chasing my date away.” 

“Pfff,” Dorcas shook her head. “He shouldn’t be put off by a few catcalls and some winks.”

“You lot are intimidating,” Mary took another sip and shrugged, “Apparently.” 

“Did he say that?” Lily pulled herself away from James, who let go a bit reluctantly and made her way to the edge of the boot. 

Mary shook her head, “Not in so many words. But he was put off. And that put me off him. Never mind. He wasn’t that good looking. And he definitely wasn’t that interesting.”

“You’d have liked a snog though,” Sirius drawled from where he lay on his stomach, head just poking out of the car to see the girls. 

Mary nodded and Dorcas patted her on the back, “Back to the apps then, girl. But no fear, let Marlene have a few more ciders and she’ll give you a pity pash.” 

Marlene’s outrage over something that had actually happened in the past resulted in a bit of scuffle and laughter that kept the group entertained until the next movie started. As the opening music pulled James made sure to pull Lily back into him, snuggling his face into her neck. 

“You big baby,” she giggled, even as she reached up to bury her hands in his hair, encouraging his kisses.

"Oi,” Remus interrupted mildly. “That isn’t the type of show we came for.” 

“Then stop watching us,” James replied primly. Lily sent a wink Remus’s way, a smirk plastered across her face. Remus shook his head and focused on the wooded scenery rolling across the screen. 

* * *

James was proud of himself. The first half of  _ Friday the 13th  _ went by without him doing anything to embarrass himself. This may not seem like a feat to most people, considering the almost laughable nature of the film in today’s day and age. Well, at least James assumed considering the sounds overtaking the drive-in at the first couple of deaths. He, on the other hand, had the thrum of anxiety rhythmically flowing through his veins. 

Lily was impressed he wasn’t shaking yet. A definite improvement from last year when she saw tears streaking down his face at this point. Though James claims it was just hot that night, it  _ wasn’t  _ tears.  _ Yeah okay. _ Though the grip around her middle had definitely tightened as the movie wore on.

Somewhere around the time when Marcie meets the business end of an axe and they discover Brenda had also been killed, the shaking begins. Lily couldn’t help but think it was still an improvement. Previously her marshmallow of a boyfriend would have been completely hidden behind her, and probably threatening to apparate home. She tried to rub his arms in soothing patterns to ease his stress. She loved him, and they still had another movie before they ended the festival. She didn’t want him to be this wound up the whole time-or get even worse. 

She felt him tense as Steve was knocked off the survivors’ list. Even the bark-like laughter from Sirius didn’t ease his tension. Lily turned to look at James and  _ really _ tried to hold back the laughter that was clawing its way up her throat. She did not totally succeed. Having seen the movie enough to know how the rest would play out, she turned fully in his arms to sit face to face with him. A gentle hand went to his cheek, her thumb rubbing circles in a calming motion. A little improvement, but his shoulders were still drawn up with the force of what was left. 

Lily maneuvered so she was closer, her legs coming up on either side of his waist as she pulled him into her embrace. She felt James burrow into the crook of her neck as she mimicked the patterns she had drawn on his arms onto his back. Felt the tension leave as they created their own little bubble, James with his arms wrapped firmly behind her back, hers still stroking his. Felt the world melt away. 

Neither realized how much time passed until they were pelted with all forms of movie snacks. Luckily none of their friends decided to dump any liquids over them. They reluctantly pulled apart to see six pairs of eyes all trained on them, all armed with projectiles. The movie had ended. Lily saw Marlene getting ready to lob what looked like Maltesers at them.

“McKinnon, you throw one more thing and you’ll be cleaning my car, inside and out, without the help of magic.” She shot a sickly sweet smile at the girl in question, who quickly lowered her arm. Their other five companions followed suit. “That’s what I thought.” A smug smile replacing the sour version. She felt James’s chuckle in the shake of his back, glad he was able to see some humor amongst all the horror. But it was a sad imitation of how boisterous he usually was. 

Lily turned back to the rest of the group who were now teasing Mary on terrifying poor blokes away. Which resulted in more flung popcorn. Resting back in her place against James’s chest, she couldn’t help how happy she felt. Things have been so crazy lately with the war and pretending to be an adult generally, it was nice to have most of their friends in one place. Nice not to have to worry for a bit. Nice to see them look less serious. Everyone, even James, looked more content than she had seen in what felt like forever. She felt lighter too as she let the laughs of her friends fill the quiet calm before the final movie.

It was really more gore, than anything else, she decided. She’d never been a big fan of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, putting her stock more in psychological scares than dramatic deaths. She watched on, feeling almost bored with the plot. Particularly as she’d seen it before. 

James, however, was not so unaffected. He winced, shudder, grimaced, moaned, and cried out as characters were slain. More than once, he furiously hissed at them, variations of  _ what kind of sick people enjoyed things like this? Was this entertainment to them _ ? He was shushed, shoved, and smothered by Remus and Sirius. By Lily a little too, if she was honest. She might not be enjoying it, but he didn’t need to be so passive-aggressive. 

“And that’s a wrap, folks,” Mary stood and stretched as the final credits came up. Marlene toppled into Dorcas as the bean bag gave way, but didn’t seem to mind as she firmly planted her lips on the enthusiastic recipient. Anyone would have thought they’d been separated months, not a few hours. Peter began to pack up his chair, collecting litter and bottles for the nearby bins. 

“Thank Merlin that’s over,” James squeezed Lily and then gently pushed her up and away, so they could climb out of the boot. 

“Too scary for you, Prongs?” Sirius chuckled as he took advantage of the extra space and rolled across Remus, hooking their legs together so the werewolf had to come too. He grumbled, but somehow his hand had ended up the back of Sirius’ shirt, so he can’t have really minded. 

“I could hear his whimpers from out here,” Peter shook his head as he returned from dumping the rubbish. 

“And you call yourself a man,” Mary shook her head. She took a step closer, lowering her voice, “You do remember you’re a wizard right? And that none of it’s real?” 

“I wasn’t scared,” James protested, frowning at them all. “I just don’t like it.”

“Kind of seems like you’re scared, mate,” Sirius raised up on his elbows, a curious smile on his face. 

“I just don’t like horrors. I don’t get why people think they’re enjoyable to watch, but I’m not scared,“ James shook his head, his tone a bit more forceful. 

“Agree to disagree,” Remus advised quietly. He pushed Sirius off him. “You’ll just get him angry, and he’ll never admit it.” 

James bridled, clearly ready to push the point, but Lily intervened, “Hey, does anyone want to get milkshakes before we head home? I remember last year they did really good ones.” 

Sirius, Marlene, and James all nodded and they started toward the snack bar. Lily was grateful when Marlene looped her arm through James’s and pulled him ahead. She hung back with Sirius and gave him a light scuff over the back of the head once the other two were out of hearing range. 

“Ouch,” he complained mildly. 

“Stop bloody teasing him,” Lily scolded. “You do this every year.” 

“And every year he does this. Carries on like a bloody pork chop throughout the movies and then when it’s over claims ‘creative differences’,” Sirius shook his head. 

“Confronting him about it head-on won’t help anything,” Lily argued. They paused as James turned back as they approached the counter. 

“Chocolate, Lil? And vanilla for the wise guy?” he asked, eyebrows raised, smirk now more firmly in place. 

“You know it’s lime,” Sirius glared. As James smirked again and turned to order with Marlene, Sirius leaned closer to Lily, “See, he’s a wanker. He needs to be called on his bullshit.” 

“Yeah, but you’re a Marauder,” Lily rolled her eyes. “Surely you can be a bit more clever about it.” 

“You say that like you’re not going to help.”

“Only if the idea’s good enough,” Lily gave a smirk of her own. 

James stepped away from the counter, shoving the still unfamiliar Muggle notes into his pocket. As he headed over to them the pleasant quiet buzz of filmgoers packing up for the night was broken by a loud sawing noise. James nearly jumped out of his skin, leaping and twirling, eyes wide. 

“Alright there, Prongs?” Sirius snickered. 

James realized the noise had come from the blender as the snack attendant churned the ingredients for the first shake. It had sounded eerily like the chainsaw from the movie they had just watched. 

“Yeah, fine,” James struggled to regain his composure, aware his heartbeat was racing and sweat had broken out across his forehead. However, the blender went again, and he gave a small yelp as he jumped. “Ah, actually, might just go to the loo before we hit the road. Are you guys good to carry the shakes?” he asked quickly, looking between the others. Without waiting for a nod or a word of agreement, he took off for the lavatories. 

“Did you see that?” Sirius asked Lily as they watched James walk-sprint away. The blender went again before he got too far. To their great delight, James performed a skipping step or three, his head and neck cringing at the sound. 

“I think he thought it was the chainsaw,” Lily confirmed, eyes still following her boyfriend’s footsteps. 

“Oh, he definitely did,” Sirius grinned, his eyes alighting with mischief. “Evans, I think I know how we’re going to get old Prongsie to admit he’s scared shitless of horror films.” 

And so, Friday Night Frights was born. Lily and Sirius declared to the others on their drive home that they loved Halloween and scary movies so much, they were starting a weekly scary movie night. People could come, they’d take turns to choose movies each week (Lily, Mary and Remus would help those of a more Magical upbringing view the options), everyone would bring snacks. It’d be a break away from the real horrors of war. Of planning missions they didn’t know they’d come back from. It would give them precious time together. 

James was furious. “No bloody way,” he howled, almost throwing his milkshake out the passenger window in disgust. “You’ve had your fun.”

“No one said you had to join,” Sirius pointed out. “You can stay in your room.”

He grumbled and growled, bargained them down to a fortnightly meet up, and only if he got to choose one week. He made Peter’s famous brownies a mandatory snack, they were mixed with chocolate chip cookie dough and were to-die-for, and declared control of both the couch and the heating system. 

“Doesn’t matter,” Sirius whispered in Lily’s ear from the back seat as she drove. “We’ll break him.” The two shared a mischievous look through the rearview mirror, missed by the other occupants of the car.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow us on Tumblr @tumbledfreckles and @midnightelite!


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